Complete
by kellicb
Summary: Old Justin and Britney SS - Justin's first solo album and he discusses one of his songs off of his album, written about Britney.


_**Complete  
**__**SS by Kelli**_

"So Justin Timberlake is here."

The girls in the TRL audience scream.

"He's going to be talking to us about his album that comes out in a couple of weeks."

Carson Daly, the host, was standing in his usual spot at the MTV studios on this late October day.

The audience starts screaming even louder when Justin just walks onto the set. "If Only You Knew", his first single off of his first solo project is playing in the background as he walks over to Carson, who grabs his hand and pulls him into a hug and says something in his ear. Justin pulls back, laughs and then says something back to Carson. He waves to the audience and then makes his way to the window overlooking Times Square so he can wave to the hundreds of fans waiting outside.

When he walks back over to Carson, he's handed a microphone.

"Man…" Carson says. "You had to go and surprise me like that. But now we have to go to break…so when we get back we'll actually get to chat with Justin and finish the rest of the countdown…stay right there," he says pointing to the camera.

Britney sits back in her Manhattan apartment and turns up the volume on her TV. She flips through the channels until she finds MTV.

"And we're back…that's Justin Timberlake right there," Carson says as the camera gets in Justin's face while he makes faces at it.

The girls in the audience laugh.

"Welcome back to the show man."

"Thank you," Justin says, which makes the girls scream again.

Carson starts shushing the crowd. "Okay, you can't keep screaming or I won't be able to ask him anything. How's it going?"

"It's going good…it's going good," he says nodding.

"Good. Now, a couple of weeks your much-anticipated solo album is going to hit stores. How do you feel about that? What's going on in your mind these days?"

Justin chuckles. "Well…thank God I don't have time to think about it too much."

"So you're not nervous about it since it's just you…no Joey or JC…?"

"Well…maybe a little bit," he says holding his finger and thumb close together. "I mean this album is like my heart and soul just laid out there for everyone to see, so that's kind of scary. But I'm just excited right now for people to hear it."

"Of course the video for your single is doing really well on TRL. How much fun was it making that video? Did you say, hey I need a vacation to a tropical paradise…let's shoot the video there?"

Justin laughs. "Yeah, I needed a tan…no, I'm just kidding. It was the director's idea, actually. It was his vision so I wasn't going to argue with that."

"Did you even get time to relax there? Where did you shoot this again?"

"It was in Aruba and no, not really. I mean we got there a day early but it wasn't enough time to do much of anything."

"Let's get to the next video…"

Britney smiles as she watches Justin. Even though he doesn't appear to be, she can tell he's a little nervous. He's usually the epitome of confidence when he's with the guys. Today he's alone. This is new to him. She takes a swig of water and waits for the video to end.

"That was Ashanti's latest video, doing well at #4 today…my guest today is Justin Timberlake."

Justin smiles.

"Let's talk a little about the tracks on the album. I've gotten a chance to listen to this man."

"Really?"

"Yeah…it's great. I can honestly say that I think I really like every song on here," he says looking at the back of the CD cover.

"Cool, thanks."

"I mean it. I don't just say that, really," Carson says, glancing over at the camera. "Did you want the affect of every song sounding completely different from the one before it?"

Justin nods. "Definitely. I like having each song sound unique. I mean sometimes you're going to get the same type of vibe or whatever, but I wanted a lot of different types of people to listen to the album all the way through and say that they liked at least one song, you know?"

Carson nods. "Sure."

"So, I worked with different people to get different sounds."

"So you didn't just say hey, I've always wanted to work with P Diddy, maybe I can get him to work on a song with me?"

Justin laughs. "Well…that too. I worked with people I wanted to work with."

"Can't blame you there. Who was the easiest to work with?"

Justin starts to scratch his chin. "Hmmm, well the song I worked on with Wade was pretty easy to lay down because we vibe together so well. And of course the one I produced with JC went smoothly."

"Okay what about with new people you worked with."

"I'd say Missy Elliot."

"Yeah?"

Justin nods. "Yeah, she was very professional but she was a blast to work with. I like the way her mind works in the studio," he says tapping his head with his finger.

"That's a cool song as well," Carson says looking down at the card in his hand. "Okay we have to get to the #3 video, it's about ready to retire…"

Britney zones out again as another video comes on. She's wondering what's going through Justin's mind right now. He looks good. He's probably biting his nails right now…she smiles and laughs. She stretches out and waits to see him again.

After the video they cut directly to a commercial break and when they come back from that, Justin's walking back towards Carson after signing a few autographs for the crowd during the break.

"Okay, before we talk about the rest of the songs, I have to mention the last track on the album…man, we've heard the rumors, so talk to us about it. It's called Complete."

Justin smiles and nods. "Yeah."

"I heard it almost didn't make the album?"

"It was pretty close, man. I wrote it like a couple of days before they were going to start printing up the first set of CD's."

"No kidding?"

"Yeah. I was looking for a last song and wasn't really happy with what we had picked. I mean it was like, I loved that song but it didn't fit as the last song, you know?"

Carson nods.

"So something in my life happened and I needed to write this song, Complete. It's basically about how I felt about my life at that moment…about everything."

"So not just about your album but about your personal life as well?"

"Yeah."

"That's cool man, but we need more than that." Carson stares at him as the girls in the audience start cheering.

Justin's eyes dart back and forth and he starts to laugh.

"Okay, I'll just say it. The rumor is, Justin, that you're back with Britney."

The girls in the audience clap and scream louder.

Justin bows his head a little and puts the microphone close to his mouth and quickly says, "Yes."

"Oh really?"

Justin nods and starts blushing a little bit. "Yeah."

Carson nods. "Cool. So this was what you were feeling about Britney and the album…all coming together at the same time? Does it feel too personal sometimes though?"

"Uh, yeah, it can. Actually I had no intention of putting this on the album, or even recording it."

"What happened?"

"Well, Britney read it actually. I had her read it right away and she got a little emotional about it so..."

The girls in the audience "Awwwww."

"And she's like, you've got to record this. The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. We were in LA and JC was in town so I called him up and we recorded it in his studio in his house."

"No kidding?"

"Yeah. So this was the quickest song I did for the album…from start to finish."

"It's a great song, man."

"Thank you."

"So it's significant because it just says everything about the way you feel about life right now?"

Justin nods. "Yeah, pretty much. And it's kind of like Gone as far as the track behind it. I wanted to keep it pretty simple."

"Great man…thanks for sharing that. See, we can put all the rumors to rest now, girls," Carson says looking back at the audience behind him.

They applaud and scream again.

Britney wipes away a tear that was falling down her cheek. She smiles when she sees Justin tug on his earlobe and wink at the camera. That was for her. He told her that morning that he'd give her a sign today. She kissed the tips of her fingers and blew it at the TV.

They show another video and go to another break.

When they get back Justin's dancing to the music they're playing in the studio.

"We were just jamming to one of the songs off of Justin's new album…do out in stores on November 12th. Tell us a little about Lance's space thing. You guys were at the launch right?"

Justin nods. "Uh, Joey wasn't there because he is doing Rent, but me, JC and Chris were there. As well as some of his family members…and my mom…she went too. But it was very very cool. "

"I can imagine all of your families are close."

Justin nods. "Well, my mom like traveled with us for the first couple of years because I was so young, you know? So she sort of became the tour mom," he laughs.

"That's nice, though. So it was cool?"

"Yeah…we had a little gathering a couple of days before the launch. He was nervous but excited."

"And they're going to do a special on all of the preparation on that up to and including the launch, I believe?"

Justin scrunches up his face a little. "Yeah, but I'm not sure when…but it's something like that."

"And speaking of Joey, did you catch the show yet?"

"Yes…actually Britney and I have seen it twice now."

"I saw it a couple of weeks ago with my girlfriend. I thought he did a great job."

"He did an awesome job," Justin agrees.

"Okay, so we've covered 2 out of the other 4. What are JC and Chris up to? Any idea?"

Justin holds the mic up to his mouth and his eyes shift back and forth. "Uhhhh I think they're both keeping busy," he laughs. "I'm not sure they're doing just one thing. A little bit of this and a little bit of that."

"When are you guys going to get together to write again?"

"We've planned on January. We'll get together in Orlando…start from there and see where it takes us."

"Hopefully a new album in 2003?"

"We'll see…we'll see."

The audience applauds.

"Okay. What about touring for you? You doing the solo thing on the road?"

"My management and I have talked about it. I think I might do a small promotional tour…it won't be like what *Nsync would do but maybe something smaller, in a few cities. That would be cool."

"Very cool," Carson agrees. "Well…I'll let you do the honor of introducing the #1 video of the day."

"Okay," Justin says look at the monitor. "The #1 video today, on TRL is "If Only You Knew" by me…thank you and enjoy."

Britney looks at her watch. He said this was his last stop for the day and then he'd be home…to her. Just the two of them. No mother's staying at the apartment. No brother stopping by for dinner. Just Britney and Justin. She smiled at the thought.

Carson and Justin were standing at a different spot in the studio when they came back from his video.

"That was the #1 video for today, October 28th…my guest Justin."

"Thanks for making my video #1," he says.

The crowd screamed and when it quieted down a lone fan yelled, "I love you Justin." The rest of the audience laughed and applauded a little.

"Thank you, I love you too," Justin says.

"And that's all we have time for today. Justin, thanks man, for stopping by. Good luck with the album and with Britney…everything."

"Thanks, man."

Justin walks around and touches hands with people in the audience as they roll the credits…and then it cuts into the next MTV program.

Britney jumps up from the couch and throws on something a little more comfortable. It literally had been almost a week since she'd been alone with him. As she sat back down on the couch she thought back to the day that started their reconciliation.

_She had just ended her North American tour on a bad note. Too much media and too many overly enthusiastic fans. She was worn out and needed to be left alone._

_When she got to LA she realized that she was going to see Justin for the first time in months at an awards show. This was going to be strange._

_"Hello?"_

_"Hi J."_

_"Um, hey Brit. What's up?"_

_"Not much. I'm in LA with my sister."_

_"How's she doing?" he asked. She could hear the smile in his voice._

_"She's doing really well. She loves it."_

_"Good. Hey, how are you doing? I heard about some of the stuff in Mexico."_

_"I'm okay…you know how it is," she says softly._

_"You sure you're okay?"_

_"Yeah…I just…"_

_He waited for her to finish._

_"I wish I could have been there for you," he says in a soft tone…almost not sure if he should have said anything._

_"I had wished you were there too. I just needed a hug, you know?" she chuckled._

_"Yeah, I know."_

_"So, um…when are you coming to LA?"_

_"Chris and I are flying there tomorrow…why?"_

_"Well, I was wondering if you would stop by the house?"_

_Should she have asked that?_

_"Is something wrong?"_

_"No…I just thought maybe if we saw each other here it would be easier to see you Sunday."  
"Sunday…oh the awards thing."_

_She chuckles. "Yeah, isn't that the reason you're coming out here?"_

_"One of them."_

_"Oh. Look, if you're seeing someone else here I…"_

_"Brit. I'm going to record a little bit."_

_"Oh," she bit her lower lip._

_"I'll come over, but I'll have to let you know when, okay?"_

_"Okay. Call me."_

_"I will."_

_"Bye, J."_

_"Bye Brit."_

_She hung up the phone. It still almost seemed surreal to her…not saying I love you to Justin before she hung up. Everything seemed surreal to her since the break up, actually._

She pulled her feet up and tucked them under her legs as she thought about how nervous she was that day she saw him again.

_"Britney?"_

_She took a drink out of her water bottle and smoothed out her shirt. She could hear him climbing up the stairs._

_"Hi," she says standing up as he reached the top of the steps._

_"Hi," he smiled._

_Good thing she was leaning against the arm of the couch or she probably would have slid down to the floor._

_He was hesitantly walking toward her. She wasn't sure what to do next so she slowly started to walk toward him. How odd that they used to be so physically affectionate with each other and now she wasn't even sure if she should give him a hug._

_He helped close the gap and they stood in front of each other. She didn't have any shoes on and had forgotten how tall he was._

_"It's good to see you," he started._

_She looked down and nodded. "You too. You want to sit down?" she asked sweeping her arm toward the couch._

_"Sure."_

_She almost jumped when he touched her back._

_"You okay?" he asked._

_"Yeah, you just startled me."_

_He sat down on the couch and she sat on the love seat that was perpendicular to the couch._

_"So, uh, how is your mom?"_

_"She's good. She wanted me to tell you she said hi. She says she misses seeing you," he finishes softly._

_"I miss seeing her too," she says trying not to get choked up. "Is she here in town too?"_

_He shakes his head. "No, she and my dad are on a cruise."_

_"Oh, that's nice."_

_"Yeah."_

_"What about the rest of the guys?"_

_"They're good. Well, you'll see Chris tomorrow."_

_She smiles. "Yeah. Do you get to talk to Lance at all?"_

_He shakes his head. "Not really. He's so busy and with the time difference it's hard. I've left him a couple of voice mails and emails and he's replied back so…"_

_She nods and stares at her hands. After another minute of silence she rubs her face with her hands and then leans down into them and groans._

_"This is ridiculous," she says._

_"I know," Justin agrees without even needing to hear what she is talking about._

_He stands up and sits next to her on the love seat._

_"We need to talk."_

_She removes her hands and looks him in the eyes. "Okay."_

_He takes her hands and she almost cries from the feel of that._

_"I still love you. I said that I always would."_

_She nods. "I never doubted that. I feel the same way."_

_"Where did we go wrong then? What didn't we do?"_

_She shrugs, still holding on to his hands. "We gave up to save our friendship."_

_"I…" he started and then bit his lower lip. "I never cheated on you…"_

_She started to interrupt him but he placed a finger over her lips._

_"No, let me finish. I was never unfaithful to you. I haven't seen anyone seriously since you. Yes, I've gone out on a few dates…but you know how long it took me to fall in love with you, it doesn't just happen over night for me."_

_She nods. "I know, me either."_

_"Maybe we could take things one step at a time…"_

_He couldn't look at her. He didn't want to see if she wasn't thinking or feeling the exact same way._

_"I would like that," she finally says._

_He looks into her smiling eyes. "Really?"_

_She nods. "I've missed you so much. I've missed us."_

Britney rubs her eyes and lays her head down on the arm of the couch. That was such a big step for them…to both admit that they were ready to try again. She turns her head so that she can look out the picture window over the city.

She smiles.

She loves New York.

_"Where are you?"_

_"I'm in New York."_

_"Aww, I wish I had known, I would have made a trip out there."_

_Justin laughs. "No, I need to get work done…you'd only distract me."_

_"Speaking of work, when do I get to hear one of your songs?"_

_"I'll see what I can do," he says in a mischievous tone._

_"When are you coming back to LA?"_

_"Hold on, let me check my calendar."_

_She heard him stand up and say something to someone._

_"Let's see…what is today?"_

_She laughs. "It's Monday."_

_"Already? I don't think I've seen the light of day…"_

_"You're working too hard."_

_"Always," he chuckles. "Okay, today's Monday…I've got a flight back to LA on Wednesday."_

_"In two days?"_

_"Yeah. Why, you miss me?"_

_She giggles. "Well…I don't want to push too fast, you know?"_

_"I know."_

_"I mean it's only been a little over a week since we decided to start over…"_

_"Yeah," he said. He looked off into the distance._

_"Justin?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"What were you just thinking about?"_

_She knew him too well. "I was thinking how difficult it is to try to work things out when we're on opposite sides of the country," he says rubbing his forehead._

_"We should be used to that."_

_"But we couldn't handle it a few months ago…"_

_"We'll see each other in a couple of days."_

_"You're right. We'll start from there."_

_"Okay. Have a safe trip."_

_"I will. Brit?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"I love you, okay?"_

_She bit her lower lip. "I…I love you too."_

_"Bye."_

_"Bye."_

She stretched her legs out and smiled. That was the first time that they had said that since March. It felt so good. Her heart felt free again. She let her eyes flutter close.

_"Hey, you're back from the studio early," Britney says throwing her purse down on the counter._

_She walks over and plops down next to Justin, who's sitting on the couch, reading a book._

_He looks over at her and runs one of his hands through her hair._

_"I wanted to come back here and see you. How was Jamie Lynn's rehearsal?"_

_She leaned into his hand. "It was good. She's having a lot of fun. Reminds me of the MMC days."_

_"Really?" he chuckles._

_"Yeah. Cute kids."_

_He stares at her for another minute, not saying anything…just taking her in._

_"What?" she whispers._

_"I'm trying to remind myself we're taking it slow."_

_"But we're taking small steps…I think we're ready for the next one," she says looking at his mouth._

_He licks his lips and leans in. Their lips gently touch…both a little timid at first._

_They had kissed since they had seen each other that Saturday before the Teen Choice Awards but they knew this was going to be different. They were ready to explore again. Britney's tongue touched Justin's and she moaned. He pulled her closer and wrapped one of her legs around his waist and pulled her up on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to kiss him. His hands maneuvered their way under her tank top and started to gently massage the skin on her back. When she pulled away a little to start kissing along his jaw line, Justin moaned softly. She kissed her way over to his ear and nibbled his earlobe as he did the same to her. His hands moved around to her stomach. He felt her muscles tighten underneath his fingers. He kissed his way down her neck and nibbled on the exposed part of her shoulder as his hands moved up to her breasts. She threw her head back and gave him better access to her collarbone. She was twisting the curls of his hair around her fingers. Slowly she started to move her hips…_

"Britney…"

She slowly opened her eyes and saw a pair of blue ones staring back at her. Justin was kneeling on the floor next to the couch so that he was eye level with her. He kissed the palm of her hand that was touching his cheek and she noticed her other hand was entwined in his curls, twirling one around her finger.

"How long have you been there?" she asked groggily.

He laughs. "Long enough for you to attack me."

She blinks. "Attack?"

He blinks innocently and she laughs.

"Seriously? I knelt down and whispered your name and you started to caress my cheek and twirl my hair. What were you dreaming about?" he leaned in closer.

"Guess…"

He kisses her and she responds. When he pulls back he says, "Brad Pitt?"

She threw her head back and laughed. "You're good. I knew I loved you for a reason."

"For this?" he asks before he leans in and teases her mouth with his before kissing her. He turns his head a little and says, "Or this?" and kisses her again.

When he pulls away to look at her she says, "Mmmm, keep trying."

He taps her nose with his finger.

"Did you watch TRL or were you taking a nap?" he asks as he tucks one of her stray hairs behind her ear.

"I watched. How did it feel?"

"I thought it went well. I answered the question about us okay, didn't I?"

She smiles and nods. "I thought you did."

"Did you catch my little sign?" he asks tugging on his ear.

"Yes," she giggles.

"Did I seem nervous?" he asks hesitantly.

"To me you did a little bit, but to the fans, I'm sure you seemed calm cool and collected."

"You sure?"

She felt her stomach growl. "I'm starving," she says and starts to sit up, giving him a quick kiss along the way, " and yes you seemed calm, the essence of confidence."

He laughs. "Well I wouldn't go that far."

He stands up and helps her up. "What do you want to do for dinner? Go out or stay in?"

"In. this is the first time we have had to ourselves in a couple of weeks."

She turns and walks to the kitchen, with Justin following her.

He hops up on the counter while she gets two covered plates out of the refrigerator.

"Since when does take out come on china plates?"

"I had them bring it from NYLA silly."

She puts one plate in the microwave and pushes start.

"So, you never told me what you were dreaming about earlier," he says swinging his feet back and forth.

She walks over to him and stands between his legs. "I was thinking about you, of course. Why else would I attack you, as you call it," she chuckles.

He takes one of her hands in his. "Oh really? And what were you thinking exactly about?"

"Well, I was actually getting to the part where…"

_Justin pulls her fingers from his hair and stopped kissing her._

_"What are you doing?" she asks breathlessly._

_"This doesn't feel right."_

_She looks around. "It doesn't?"_

_"This shouldn't be about sex."_

_She leans her head down on his shoulder._

_"It's always been more than just sex with us…" suddenly she sits upright. "Oh, is it weird maybe because you've been with…" she couldn't finish her thought._

_He shakes his head. "No, it's not that…I mean, I never did with anyone else."_

_She felt her heart do flip-flops when he said that. "Then what?"_

_"I just think we should concentrate on our personal relationship before our physical. We never had any problems with the physical part of it," he says giving her a warm smile._

_She smiles back. "No…we never did. So, I guess I'll sit back down here," she says sliding off of his lap, "and we'll talk."_

_He nods his head. "Sounds good."_

Justin laughs. "You really thought I didn't want you?"

She slaps his leg. "Yes at that moment, I wanted you so bad and you just pushed me away. I thought, he doesn't want me anymore." She sticks her lower lip out.

He lifts her chin up and gently kisses her mouth. "I wanted you so badly that it hurt."

She shakes her head. "You had a strange way of showing it," she says as she turns away and walks over to the microwave to get the plate out. She puts the other plate in as Justin hops off of the counter and walks over to put the plate on the table.

"Yeah but aren't you glad we waited until we did?"

He picks up a fork full of green beans and holds it to her mouth. She takes a bite and nods.

"Yes, it was magical…and I got a song out of it," she says with her mouth full.

He laughs and kisses her. "I love you."

_"Thank you for letting me listen to part of your album today," Britney says as she sits next to Justin in the oversized chair in their bedroom._

_"I'm glad you liked it," he says bringing her face closer to his._

_She wraps her arms around his waist as he kisses her. Their tongues meet in a slow sensual rhythm as his hand runs up and down her bare back._

_When they pull apart she rests her head against his chest and listens to his heartbeat. He continues to gently run his finger up and down her back._

_"A couple of those songs," she starts, shaking her head, "were almost too much for me to listen to."_

_He kisses the top of her head. "They were what I was feeling at the time," he whispers._

_"I know, but that's what makes it hard for me to listen to. To know that we caused that much pain in each other," she says looking up at him._

_"But look where it brought us…"_

_He wiped the lone tear that rolled down her cheek. She nods. He knows that look she's giving him right now…he's feeling the same way._

_"Make love to me, Justin," she says in a husky tone._

_No more words are needed as he brings her face to his again and their mouths meet. Even though they both are anxious, they don't hurry. Slowly they make their way to the bed, removing clothing along the way. By the time they lay next to each other on the bed, they are completely naked. Britney takes Justin's hand and pulls him closer. He kisses her again as his hands explore and caress her body, causing her to create noises from her he had never heard before. He brings her to a peek and as she recovers from that she starts to explore his body with her mouth…not missing any part of his body. When he can't take it anymore he brings her head back up and rolls her over in one swoop. As he's kissing her she prepares her body for his. He gently eases himself inside of her and they begin to move with each other. One of their hands join, their fingers entwine as Justin brings it up over Britney's head. _

"Is it hot in here?" Justin asks, fanning a hand in front of his face.

"Isn't it always?" Britney asks as she leans over and gives him a quick kiss.

"I'm trying to eat and I thought you were starving," he says as he takes another bite.

She takes a sip of wine. "I'm getting stuffed now. I'm so glad that I opened a restaurant."

He nods. "Me too."

He can tell out of the corner of his eye that she's staring at him so he looks up. "What?"

"You're just so beautiful," she says as she runs her fingers down his cheek.

"You're making me nervous, Brit."

She pushes back from the table and waits until he takes another bite. He looks up at her and she motions for him to scoot his chair back a little, so he does and she sits down on his lap.

"I can't help it if I like to look at you. I have a lot of time to make up for."

She takes the fork from him and cuts a piece of chicken and feeds it to him.

"Are you going to sit here and feed me too?"

"Maybe," she says kissing the corner of his mouth. She sighs and rests her head on his shoulder.

"I mean I know we have a lot of time to make up for but can a guy eat?"

She laughs. "Go ahead. I'll just sit here and think about _my _song."

"I've written a lot of songs about you, baby."

"But not like this one," she sighs.

_Britney walks over to Justin in the oversized chair and leans over the back to rest her arms on his shoulders._

_"What are you doing?" she whispers._

_"Writing."_

_"I expected you to be in bed next to me still. I instead you need to write?" she giggles._

_He glances back at her and kisses her arm since it's the only thing he can reach._

_"I had to get these thoughts down on paper."_

_She slides around and he moves his arms so she can sit on his lap. He brings the journal around in front of them so she can see what he's writing._

_"You almost done?" she asks leaning back._

_"Almost."_

_He writes down a few more words and she starts to read._

_"Justin…what is this?"_

_He shrugs. "It's what I'm feeling right now."_

_She begins to read out loud. "No words can explain the way you make me feel. I feel like I can climb a mountain. I feel like I can swim the ocean or soar with the birds. Even though it felt this way before, it feels more so even now. How do you do this to me? How can my life feel so complete?"_

_She turns to look at him. "Is this about…"_

_He nods. "What I'm feeling right now in here," he says taking her hand and placing it over his heart. "I'm scared to let it happen so fast this time but it's not like I ever fell out of love with you."_

_"I was feeling the same way. I was scared too."_

_"I think it was hard for me before to think of my life as feeling complete. I thought I was too young to feel that way." He shakes his head. "But I'm not. I know what's in here," he says tapping their hands over his heart, "and I needed to write it down." He gives a small chuckle. "I didn't even realize what it was until I wrote it."_

_"I love you," she says leaning down to kiss him._

_"I love you too."_

_"Let me read more," she says turning back around and bringing the journal closer to her._

_When she's finished she sets the journal down and says, "You should make that into a song."_

_"Nah. It's personal."_

_"But those make the best songs, don't they? It's not just about us…it's about your life right now. The album…me. A new beginning."_

_He runs his fingers through her tousled hair and then picks up the journal again, sorting the words out in his head to try to find the chorus. He starts to hum something and fits the words in with the melody. Britney smiles and leans her head against his shoulder and listens as he creates a new song._

"It's my favorite song of all time now."

She stands up so he can finish eating and she takes her plate over to the sink. She walks back over to the table, continues to stand and takes another sip of wine.

"Of all time?" he asks as he throws his napkin down on his plate.

She picks his plate up and walks over to the sink and nods. "Yep, of all time. Even the other songs that you've written about me don't have what this song has."

"What's that?" he asks as he stretches his legs out and sits back.

"I don't know the word for it. Just the way you wrote it and the way it made you feel when it was finished," she says as she turns around and leans against the sink.

He shrugs. "Maybe it was the afterglow of sex."

She throws a dishtowel at him and laughs with him. "Whatever." When they both get serious again she says, "Whatever it was…I felt it too."

He stands up and crosses the room to her. He places both hands on either side of her on the counter and leans in to kiss her.

When neither of them could breathe anymore he pulls back and says, "So we both feel complete?"

She wipes the lipstick from his lower lip and says, "I guess we do."


End file.
